The Mosman Collar Bomb

It’s about 2pm on a crisp Wednesday afternoon in August 2011, and 18-year-old Madeleine Pulver is in her family’s three-story waterfront mansion in the glitzy Sydney suburb of Mosman. She’s studying for her HSC trials, the practice run before the final exams for Year 12s in the state of NSW.

The house is quiet today. Her two younger brothers are at school and her older brother is away. Her dad Bill, head of a multi-million-dollar global software company, is in his city office and her mum Belinda is out consulting with her landscape gardening company. Madeleine’s home alone.

Suddenly, the silence is broken by a man wearing a rainbow ski mask carrying a baseball bat, who bursts into the room.

“Sit down and no one needs to get hurt,” he tells her.

The masked man pulls out a black box that’s being held up by what looks like a bike chain, which he fastens around her throat.

After locking it, he places a lanyard holding a USB stick and two pages of demands around her neck. Then he walks away. But not before he tells a terrified Madeleine to count to 200.

“I’ll be back…” he warns. “If you move…. I can see you…. I’ll be right here.”

THE END BITS

Subscribe to Mamamia

CREDITS

Guests: Gil Taylor & Mark Morri

Host: Gemma Bath

Executive Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producers: Rhiannon Mooney

GET IN TOUCH:

Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]  

Join our closed Facebook community to discuss this episode. Just search True Crime Conversations on Facebook or follow this link https://bit.ly/tcc-group 

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Just by reading or listening to our content, you’re helping to fund girls in schools in some of the most disadvantaged countries in the world - through our partnership with Room to Read. We’re currently funding 300 girls in school every day and our aim is to get to 1,000. Find out more about Mamamia at mamamia.com.au  Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.